Cast Iron Replica Guttering for Sussex – Hove Museum & Art Gallery

Tuscan Foundry Products has replicated the original cast iron rainwater system for Hove Museum & Art Gallery, part of Brighton & Hove Museums Service.   Special mouldings were created to provide exact matching cast iron gutters which will replace some of the existing systems dating back to the Victorian period.

The Victorian Villa which houses the Brighton & Hove Museums’ Craft Collection, displays celebrating Hove’s early filmmaking history, and the magical Wizard’s Attic filled with toys from the 18-20^th century, is not a listed building but has historical value. Some of the architectural features including the rainwater system are of a unique profile.

Paul Stenning, Managing Director of Tuscan Foundry Products who specialises in replicating cast iron rainwater goods comments:
“We discovered that many of the nozzles were recessed into the original stonework, therefore it was imperative to get an exact match otherwise it wouldn’t meet with the downpipe.”

Tuscan Foundry Products, a Sussex-based foundry, copied the pattern by getting up on the roof to create timber templates for both sections of the gutters measuring 12 ½ x 8 inches and 16 x 8 inches.  The templates were then taken to the foundry to create casts into which molten iron was poured to produce exact replicas of the guttering and cast pipes.

Tim Thearle, Historic Buildings Officer of Hove Museum & Art Gallery explains:

“The profile of the existing guttering system is an unusually large size, therefore we specified in the tender to use local expert Tuscan Foundry Products to replicate the originals. Replacing with cast iron is expensive but it is in keeping with the external architecture of the historic fabric of the building. Cast iron is renowned for its durability so therefore more cost-effective in the long run than other materials which could fail.”

The project valued at approximately 60K is due for completion by Woodland Building Services in August 2006.